Almost a decade has passed, and Amiel Sawdaye is long gone. He cut his teeth in the Red Sox scouting department, but he’s since moved cross country into the Diamondbacks front office. He’s a senior vice president and an assistant general manager, and he has his own division race to worry about.

Yet on Aug. 3, Sawdaye reached out to a 31-year-old minor league journeyman, because in this game, success stories come in every shape and size, and they don’t fade with time or distance.

And Dan Butler just so happens to be one of the great success stories in recent Red Sox history.

“Even if he catches one game or gets one at-bat,” Sawdaye said. “However much playing time he gets out there, he’s going to have an impact on somebody in that game. That’s what’s great about it.”

Butler was called up from the minors after Blake Swihart strained his hamstring on Aug. 2. It was Butler’s second career call-up, coming four years after he got...